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It began with the BAA website being overwhelmed

Qualifying for the Boston Marathon the Day That Changed It All

Canada Goose sale For those seeking to qualify for the Boston, October 18, 2010 is a truly significant date. It was a day that took many by surprise. It was a day that no one truly expected. It was the day that the Boston sold out in a canada goose outlet edmonton record eight hours. Canada Goose sale

cheap Canada Goose I vividly remember this day. It began with the BAA website being overwhelmed, so much that it crashed and left many people unable to initially register. cheap Canada Goose

canadian goose jacket To be completely honest, I don’t even recall why I even decided canada goose outlet phone number to sign up on the opening day of registration. In years past, specifically for the 2007 2009 Boston s, I had always waited until the prior December to register. I just never felt any kind of pressure canada goose uk to get in early, even though registration had canada goose outlet typically been open for a few months by the time I signed up. For the 2010 Boston, I decided to do things a bit early. This meant registering on Oct. 21, despite registration being open since Sept. 9. (In case you are wondering, I still actually have all acceptance emails dating back to 2006). In short, prior to Oct. 18, if you had qualified for Boston, there was no “race to register”; it was simply about making sure you did so in a somewhat timely manner. canadian goose jacket

Canada Goose Outlet One could argue the fact that registration for the 2010 Boston closed out on Nov. 13, 2009 may have caused some canada goose outlet woodbury urgency when it came to the fall of 2010. However, while it did happen more quickly than in past years, it still took two full months! Therefore, the sudden interest in registering for the 2011 race in the fall of 2010 seems to defy logic, at canada goose outlet reviews least to me. Canada Goose Outlet

canada goose store Yet, there I was at my computer still trying to register on opening day. However, after failing to do so, I remember deciding that I’d just wait until another day when traffic was lighter and I’d be able to easily register. At this point I’d been through this drill nine times prior and never had an issue, so I thought to myself, ‘why should it be any different this time around?’ canada goose store

Canada Goose Parka Yet as the morning progressed I started to see posts on both Facebook and Twitter that this year was different. Registration was progressing faster than anyone had anticipated, canada goose outlet trillium parka black and the reason for the website issues was the number of runners trying to register simultaneously. I decided to go back to the BAA site, which by this time was working just fine. I received an email stating that my entry had been received. Canada Goose Parka

Canada Goose Jackets I was one of the lucky ones that day. Many runners ended up being shut out, and my guess is they had registered in prior years and did not have a sense of urgency, canada goose outlet canada as it wasn’t needed previously. Or they had been told that as long as they had a qualifying time, they were good to go. While this all may have been true before, on canada goose outlet locations in toronto Oct. 18, it was a completely different reality as registration closed out at 5:03pm. Canada Goose Jackets

This left many runners frustrated. Many canada goose outlet in montreal folks who had worked canada goose outlet sale hard to qualify now found themselves without a slot. It was also clear this was something very new for the BAA, as not even they had anticipated the sellout and that so canada goose outlet in vancouver many Boston Qualifiers would rush to register. This point was further accentuated by race director Dave McGillivray who following that day was quoted as saying: “I was getting e mails from some people that night canada goose outlet london saying, canada goose outlet new york ‘Wow, you must be thrilled. A sellout in eight hours.’ Thrilled? I was hiding under my bed.”

canada goose coats Therefore, it was clear after Oct. 18, that change would be needed. While the existing process had worked well, there was a new air surrounding canada goose parka outlet qualifying and registering for Boston. So what changed as a result of this day, and what has its impact been? canada goose coats

canada goose clearance sale On Feb. 16, 2011 the BAA announced that for the 2012 Boston they would introduce a new tiered registration process to let the fastest qualifiers register first, rather than let all qualified canada goose outlet montreal runners, canada goose outlet ottawa regardless of their qualifying time, register on a first come, first served basis. Therefore those who had met their qualifying standards canada goose outlet us for their age by 20 minutes were allowed to register first, then a second wave of runners who were able to meet their standards by 10 minutes were next. Then, if spots remained, those who met their standards by canada goose factory outlet vancouver five minutes could register in a third wave. Finally, canada goose outlet mississauga if there were still spots remaining, all those who had met the standard could register. This process is still with us to this very day. canada goose clearance sale

canada goose In the very same press release, the BAA also announced canada goose outlet new york city that for the 2013 Boston qualifying times for all age groups would be reduced by five minutes. This meant that men 18 34, who previously had to run a 3:10:00 to qualify, now had to run a 3:05:00. To the uninitiated, five minutes might not canada goose sale uk seem like much, but I can tell you through personal experience it can make a huge difference. In fact, some of my earlier qualifying runs would not have been qualifiers under the current standards. Recently I’ve run races such as Chicago in 2013 where I failed to qualify, but under the old terms I would have qualified. (I ran a 3:18:00). These qualifying standards are still with us today. canada goose

Ask any runner who has qualified for Boston and in most cases you will get a story that involves years of hard work, a lot of training and most likely, many failed attempts. Therefore, when one qualifies for the Boston, it is a feat to be celebrated. However, one of the unintended consequences of the new qualification system is its canada goose outlet online store review creation of a “qualifier no man’s land”. What I mean here is that in recent years there have been groups of runners who by the BAA’s standards have qualified, but have not done so with a fast enough time to obtain entry into the race. For the 2015 race this mean those who had qualified, but had met the standard by less than one minute and canada goose jacket outlet store two seconds, were denied entry. According to the BAA, this happened to 1,947 applicants last fall. For the 2014 race, the cut off was one minute and thirty eight seconds, and as a result 2,976 Boston Qualifiers were not able to run. canada goose outlet website legit Therefore, in today’s environment while obtaining a qualifying time certainly does enable runners to say that they were good enough, it unfortunately is no longer a guarantee they get to run the actual race.

Canada Goose online No, this is not about making sure that the likes of Will Ferrell’s character “Frank the Tank” from Old School get a number, rather its about ensuring those who have an active streak of 10 or more consecutive Boston completions are able to run. However, the key to this exemption is they must all be Boston Qualifiers and in order to register, they need to do so with a qualifying time. This is a very small group: for canada goose outlet parka the 2015 marathon, it was comprised of 356 runners. However, what the BAA does afford this group is the opportunity to preregister before anyone else. They also waive the tiered qualification schedule, so as long as runners have a qualifying time by registration, they’re good to go. It’s clear the BAA recognizes this group’s accomplishments and has exempted them from some of the processes that have stymied other runners. Canada Goose online

The End of the Two Year Qualifier

buy canada goose jacket cheap Prior to the events of Oct. 18, one of canada goose outlet niagara falls the great things about Boston was that if you ran a qualifying time after Oct. 1st of that year, you could use that time for the Boston in the coming year, as well as for the marathon in the year that followed. In short, running a qualifying time after Oct. 1 was a pretty much a guaranteed entry for two Boston’s. But in order for this to work, runners had to register for the immediate year’s race after Oct. 1, which was canada goose stockists uk not an issue before 2010. While this tactic could have been deployed for the 2011 and 2012 races, based on how things work today, it’s really not an option. buy canada goose jacket cheap

buy canada goose jacket The BAA currently states that for canada goose outlet hong https://www.pick-canadagoose.com kong the 2016 Boston, qualifying times must be run on or after Sept. 13, 2014, and most phases of registration for the 2015 marathon required completion by Sept. 12. The only exception would be running a qualifying race in the two days prior to Monday, Sept. 15, which was when registration opened to all remaining qualifiers who had met the qualifying standard, if space remained. Therefore, while it’s possible to slip under the wire with a two year qualifier, it’s a pretty unlikely scenario. It’s safe to say thecurrent registration process for qualified runners has all but eliminated what used to be an effective way to extend and leverage the value of a qualifying run. buy canada goose jacket

canada goose coats on sale When it comes to qualifying for Boston, it’s clear that no single day has had a larger impact on it than Oct. 18, 2010 and while there may be mixed feelings and emotions about the changes this day brought forth, it’s clear to me that they are here to stay. However more importantly they are also a sign that despite the Boston being steeped in history and tradition, it’s not afraid to evolve to stay relevant. We must applaud the BAA for not only respecting the history and tradition of the Boston, but for canada goose jacket outlet uk also recognizing the realities of today to ensure an even a better race for tomorrow canada goose coats on sale.